Broken
by CleopatraLove
Summary: Gabriella has been hurt by everyone she has ever cared about. This dark teen has been forced to live with new foster parents in Albuquerque where she meets Troy, will she let him in? will he change her for the better? *DISCONTINUED*
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys this is my first High School Musical fanfiction. This idea came to me and I began writing and couldn't stop so I really hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it. So please review and let me know what you think and if there is anything wrong. If you don't review or don't like I won't continue but if you do like I will, so yeah... enjoy!**

**With the help of my amazing Beta I have made a few changes since I first posted this chapter so please, re-read.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own High School Musical and its characters and nor do I claim too.**

* * *

Gabriella has been let down by almost everyone she has ever cared about. When she was two years old her dad left the family for his druggy mistress. Gabriella was too young to understand what happened, she always felt part of her was missing; there was a whole in her heart.

After his abandonment her mother, Maria, struggled to keep up with their lifestyle. She eventually turned to alcohol to ease the daily stress on her life. Unfortunately what started as the occasional drink, turned into an addiction, an obsession, a need and she became an alcoholic. Everyone, except Maria herself, could see that she was addicted, but the adult never admitted to anyone, not even herself.

When Gabriella was eight years old she consulted the school counsellor because she was worried about her mother and the kind of men she would bring home. The school contacted child services and asked them to come to the school and hear what Gabriella had to say.

After the meeting, child services contacted Maria and they had a conversation with her about Gabriella's life so far and their daily routines, as well as Maria's own life. After Maria had gotten off the phone she had yelled at Gabriella for telling someone about her problems. When Gabriella tried to apologize to her mother, Maria had beaten her. The beating was so bad it left large bruises, so when child services made an unexpected visit the next day it wasn't hard to put two and two together and they immediately took Gabriella from Maria's care.

Ever since then she has been in the foster care system, going from one home to the other, never really knowing what a true family was like. Gabriella became depressed and when she was thirteen she began cutting herself. When people noticed the cuts and scars, she would deny it. She would scream at them for thinking such a thing. That's when her third foster family gave up and contacted child services, who took Gabriella back into the system and to yet another home.

When she was fourteen she walked the streets at night begging strangers to buy her beer. She didn't see herself as an alcoholic she knew better than that but whenever she got into a fight with her foster parents, she would run into her room and drink. She ditched school almost every day and wandered around on the streets talking to no one; just walking.

When the school rang and informed her foster parents that she hadn't been attending they laid down the law, if she didn't start to go to school they would have to send her back. Of course Gabriella didn't attend, so two weeks later she was brought back and sent off to another home; to people who thought they could straighten her out.

In her new 'home' Gabriella did start to attend school. She made no friends and got into fights regularly resulting in her being expelled when she was only sixteen. Her foster parents tried hard to straighten her out but she rebelled against them. She went so far that she broke every rule they made. Almost at their breaking point they got her to see a therapist that did house calls, as Gabriella refused to go. It was no help she wouldn't change for anyone, so at age seventeen her fifth set of foster parents gave up and sent her back.

"Gabriella, why am I not surprised to see you back here again?" Isabelle asked guiding Gabriella into her office and into the seat in front of her desk. Isabelle has been dealing with Gabriella since she first started the programme; she's the one in charge of finding Gabriella a safe and stable home to live in. Six times she's seen Gabriella walk through her office door with the same expression, the same cold stare and every time she's tried to befriend the lost girl. Every time she failed.

"Dunno" Gabriella muttered, picking at the black nail polish on her fingernails. Isabelle sighed before looking through the paperwork for the next 'home' for Gabriella.

For Gabriella it was the same routine: new house, new family, break the rules, fuck up, get kicked out and come back here. She had no friends, no family, no dreams. She felt empty inside and it was obvious to everyone that looked into her dull brown eyes, never seeing the sparkle that was once there. At school, well the days she did go, people would tease her for being emo, because of her appearance. Of course Gabriella didn't take it and she got into fights, that she would always win.

"Alrighty, looks like your moving to Albuquerque with the O'Malley's" Isabelle smiled warmly.

"Yay!" Gabriella faked enthusiasm and rolled her eyes. It was just another stop in her life.

"Now will you promise me you are going try with this family and be good to these people." Isabelle asked, ignoring Gabriella's previous outburst.

"Nope" she replied simply picking at the frays of the holes in her jeans.

"Gabriella, I don't want to see you back here again, please try you're hardest at your new home. They are good people" Isabelle spoke quietly, folding her hands together in front of her.

"Do you really think I give a shit?" Gabriella replied harshly, looking up at her counsellor for the first time. Gabriella's eyes were cold, while they once were a bright, chocolate brown, now they were dull and hidden behind a heavy coat of eyeliner and mascara.

"Please get your things and wait outside my office while I make a few calls" Isabelle instructed, growing tired of the teenager's attitude. With that Gabriella snatched her duffle bag leaving the room, slamming the door behind her. She sat on the ground leaning against the wall until Isabelle came out of the room.

"Your plane will be leaving in a few hours, so if you need to say goodbye to anyone make it fast" Isabelle said walking from her office to the front desk, her heels clicking against the wooden floors.

Gabriella sat for a few moments before getting up and walking to the front desk, kicking the wall as she walked past. She nodded at Isabelle and waited for her to retrieve her keys before they walked to the car. They were headed straight for the airport.

****

As soon as she stepped off the plane she contemplated running away before the O'Malley's could see her. But then again Isabelle would have already informed them that she'd do such a thing and they would be prepared. So with a sigh she made her way over to the luggage where she instantly saw her bag coming her way.

Finding the O'Malley's was hardly a challenge; the big sign, that had 'Gabriella Montez' written on it, was hard to miss. As she made her way over to the couple she took in their appearances. They were both in their mid forties, both smiling brightly at her. She rolled her eyes and continued walking.

Mr and Mrs O'Malley were a lovely couple who had tried to have kids when they were younger, but sadly they were unsuccessful. Ever since then they had been fostering kids who had either been abandoned or taken away from their parents. They weren't ready to adopt, because they weren't ready for that commitment. So they fostered for many years. The kids they fostered had come from different places, all with their own unique background story. Upon hearing Gabriella's story they thought, it was their job to help the teenager, even after hearing the stories of the other foster parents.

"Gabriella!" Mrs O'Malley, or Karen as she preferred, smiled when the teenager approached her.

"It's so nice to finally meet you" Mr O'Malley, or Tony, added.

"Yeah whatever, can we just get out of here?" Gabriella muttered causing both Karen and Tony's smile to fall.

"Sure honey, come on" Karen said leading the way through the crowd and into the parking lot.

"I'm Tony and this is my wife Karen" Tony introduced himself, to the raven haired girl. Gabriella seemed to ignore him as she kept walking. Karen and Tony shared a look before sighing, they both wanted the best for this girl no matter how hard the challenge.

The car ride was silent; Gabriella sat in the back seat with her head on the window and her iPod on full blast. Both Karen and Tony could hear the music from the front seat.

Karen and Tony have always been proud of their home. The house wasn't large but it wasn't small either. Standing at two storeys tall the house was all white with a rose garden running from the front of the house to the back. It was an old home, built by the previous occupants who died of old age. So when the newlywed couple spotted the house, they knew it was perfect. They lived in a good neighbourhood and knew almost all of their neighbours. So when they pulled up they were only hoping Gabriella would love it as much as they did.

Well Gabriella did not. For Gabriella it was only another place to stay until she turned eighteen, and she was a legal adult, leaving her on her own. Another place with meddling people who weren't her mother or father. It was the story of her life. Karen opened the door and led Gabriella inside for a tour of the house. Of course Gabriella wasn't paying much attention until they got to her room.

"So this is where you'll be staying" Karen smiled, walking into the spacious room. When she knew Gabriella wasn't going to answer her she decided to give her some room.

"Okay well make yourself at home and if you need us we'll be downstairs" Karen said before walking away, somehow still smiling.

Gabriella took a look around the room. The room was big, far bigger than any other room she had before; the bed was a double with a white bedspread that had butterflies on it. The butterflies would have to go. The room was filled with the normal essentials, like a desk, drawers, wardrobe and plenty of other things, but the thing that intrigued Gabriella the most was the balcony.

After dropping her bag on the ground she slowly made her way to the French doors that opened with ease. The cool breeze hit her as soon as she walked out. She closed her eyes and let the wind flow softly through her dark hair, as she tried very hard not to think.

Ever since Gabriella was a child she always dreamed of having a balcony. She would always dream her prince would come to her balcony and take her away from everything.

****

"Yo hoops!" Chad Danforth yelled tossing the ball at Troy. They were playing a two on two game of basketball in Troy's backyard with Jason and Zeke.

Troy Bolton was seventeen. He grew up with the perfect parents, Jack and Lucille; they were supportive, loving and happy. He had many dreams in life, but his most important one is to play for the Lakers basketball team. He was captain of the East high basketball team, which included Chad, Zeke and Jason. His dad was the coach, so every now and then -especially on big games- his dad would organize college scouts to come and watch him play.

"Good shot man" Troy said breathless, walking over to the side of the court to grab a drink of water.

"That'll do for today I'm beat!" Jason said shaking his long, brown locks and pulling his shirt over his head.

"Dude the big game is in a couple of months and if you're tired already then you won't stand a chance against west high" Troy said sitting on the grass next to the court.

"I'll be fine, I'll get in shape don't worry" Jason replied taking another swig of icy water.

"Can you believe school begins tomorrow, man it feels like Christmas was yesterday" Zeke complained, lying on the court.

"I know, but hey at least I'll get to see Taylor" Chad smiled, running a hand through his out of control afro.

"You're so whipped" Troy laughed throwing Jason's shirt at him.

"Shut up Bolton, I remember last summer when you were making googly eyes at Simone Johnson, Ha!" Chad laughed throwing the shirt back.

"Dude I remember that!" Zeke said and the three boys laughed.

"Guys seriously, I wasn't making googly eyes at her!" Troy protested.

"Sure sure, man I gotta run it's almost five, you guys want a ride?" Chad asked, bouncing up and getting his things.

"Yeah" they both said getting their things.

"Alright, see you at school tomorrow" Troy said giving them all a man hug. They nodded before running to Chad's range rover.

Troy walked back into his house that he had lived in his whole life. His parents were both well off, so he was never short on anything he needed, resulting in an exceptionally large house and only the best cars. Except for Troy's truck that he had fixed with his dad, he loved it too much to sell or even buy a new car to use.

"Hey mom" Troy said running inside with his basketball under his arm.

"Honey could you help me out with dinner?" Lucille asked from the kitchen.

"Fine, but I'm all sweaty" Troy smiled knowing his mother reaction to that fact.

"Oh Troy that's disgusting. Go shower!" she ordered but she still had a smile on her face.

Troy laughed before running up to his room and jumping in his shower. Troy had a lot of things on his mind, but his main problem was school tomorrow.

"I hope school will be interesting this year" he sighed.

Oh he had no idea how interesting!


	2. Chapter 2

**The feedback for the first chapter was lovely and I thank you all :)**

**The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.  
-W. M. Lewis **

Walking into the school the next morning was torture for Gabriella and not because she was intimidated, nervous or scared. The real reason behind the torture was the irritation she felt when every pair of eyes looked at her in a judging or scrutinizing way. She nearly waltzed over to the fuckers to pummel them, then and there.

They always tell you to make a good first impression and that's something that sticks to you whatever you do or wherever you go.

'_Why not show them that they can't fuck with me?'_ Gabriella thought.

Her answer however was simple. Her foster parents had given her an ultimatum. They made her choose between school and charity work. If she went to school she could easily ditch and ignore her foster parents, but if she would choose charity work, she would be under the watch of Karen and Tony all the time. If she were to quit school or be expelled she would have no choice but to join Karen and Tony with their daily activities with the homeless, or needy.

In Gabriella's mind she was homeless and needy. She did have a house where she could keep all her things, but she never had a _**home**_.

Shaking her head Gabriella cleared her thoughts and entered the small, sickly smelling office of East High.

"Good Morning, can I help you dear?" a chubby, redheaded woman asked from behind the desk, once she approached it.

"I'm new" Gabriella responded not looking her in the eye but at a poster on the wall that said '_BE YOURSELF!' _

"Welcome to East High! What might your name be?" she asked still annoyingly nice.

"Gabriella Montez" she muttered. The woman smiled and started typing away on her computer.

"Nervous for the new year?" she asked not looking up from her computer. Gabriella shrugged.

"Okay here is your schedule and locker number, I hope you have a wonderful first day" she smiled handing over a piece of paper.

Gabriella snatched it from her and walk to the door, adjusting her bag along the way.

--

Room 101 wasn't at all hard to find, considering the room numbers were on each door, indicating that Gabriella was indeed going the right way. The bell had rung informing her that she needed to get to class, but Gabriella made her way to class at her own pace not caring if she were to get into trouble, what could they do anyway?

Walking into the classroom only irritated the brunette more. The stares were worse; in fact everyone had stopped talking to look at her. She rolled her eyes and made her way over to the teacher who looked as if she had just jumped out of a two dollar shop's clothes bin.

"Ah, you must be Gabriella. I'm Mrs Darbus" the strange woman greeted her. "Everyone, I want you to meet East High's newest student, Gabriella Montez. Please treat her well."

Gabriella groaned softly, another introduction. She glanced around the crowded room and she could already pick the nerds from the jocks, the cheerleaders from the socially retarded. She stopped looking around when her eyes locked with another pair, the bluest eyes she had ever seen. But all her thoughts cleared when he smiled at her, she glared back and nosily made her way to the only seat up the back, leaving poor Troy slightly confused.

--

What was this girl's problem? He merely smiled at her and she glared at him, her pretty brown eyes so full of hatred. He was confused, had he met her before and done something to upset her? No he couldn't have, he'd remember that face any day. It wasn't often Troy would see raw beauty. But this girl had it. Gabriella. Even her name was beautiful. When she walked through the door everyone had turned their attention to her, including himself. When she looked at him he felt silly for just staring back so he offered a smile. Which she clearly didn't take well.

"Dude... looks like another emo chick" Chad, Troy's best friend since preschool laughed.

"Yeah..." Troy laughed slightly returning his gaze back on her. She was wearing black skinny's, a grey tee that looked like black paint had been thrown all over it, black converse with writing all over it but he couldn't make out the words, her wrists were covered in bracelets and she was wearing dark blue nail polish. Her long, dark, curly hair was out and her gorgeous brown eyes were hidden behind a dark line of eyeliner.

Troy was taking in every detail of her, the way her full lips seemed to be in a permanent frown and the way her eyes burned with fury. He hadn't realised he was paying so much attention until she stuck her middle finger up at him. No wonder she looked so mad.

He returned his attention back to Chad who was filling him in on new techniques for the basketball team.

The bell rang shortly after and Troy found himself following the mysterious girl as she walked through the corridors. He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to ask what was up with earlier but he figured if she already hated him for smiling at her then talking would be way too much. He sighed and turned around, headed for his next class.

--

"Hey Troy" came a screechy voice. He knew immediately who it was without having to look at her.

"Amy how was your break?"

They were sitting in English but the teacher seemed oblivious to their talking, that or he just didn't care.

"Oh you know it would have been better if you agreed to go on the skiing trip with me and my family" she pouted, leaning forward on her desk, showing off her cleavage, as per normal.

"My family wanted me to spend the majority of it with them" he replied, leaning back into his chair and trying to not look at the girls who looked to be undressing him with their eyes.

The conversation seemed to remain the same, Amy flirting obnoxiously and Troy trying to ignore her. Lunchtime came around and as he made his way to the cafeteria he spotted Gabriella walking towards the back doors.

She wanted to get away. She's only been here for a few hours but she was already sick of it. She ignored the snickering she got as she walked into every classroom, flipping the bird when needed. She sure as hell wasn't going into the cafeteria, she wasn't that stupid. With her previous schools she realised that the whole time she stood looking for a table to sit at people were watching, laughing even. She wasn't doing that again, so she made her way out the back doors to go sit under a tree or something. She wasn't hungry anyway. Just as she reached for the door handle someone called her name.

"Gabriella wait!" he called running toward her. She looked up at him and rolled her eyes. The boy with the eyes. Great. "Where are you going?" he asked once he reached her. She looked him over before pushing the door open and walking out into the freezing wind. Much to her disappointment the boy followed.

"There's a law against stalking you know?" she spat still walking forward, scanning the area for somewhere suitable to sit.

"She talks!" he laughed, but stopped upon seeing her glare. "You know if you're planning on eating out here... I wouldn't" he said tucking his hand deep into his pockets, now walking next to her.

"Lucky I'm not you huh?" she replied bitterly, then stopped dead in her tracks. The cold was becoming a problem, her toes numbed through her converse. As if he could read her mind he let out a short laugh.

"And that's why; it's like 30 degree's out here"

"Oh really? Well if you're so god damn smart where am I supposed to sit?"

"Traditionally in the cafeteria" he shrugged, not put off by her rudeness.

"I don't do cafeteria's" she replied through clenched teeth, she wasn't angry at his words just him. What stupid plan did he have to humiliate her...?

"Then try the bleachers, follow me" he smiled brushing past her and walking in the opposite direction. She contemplated just jumping the fence and leaving this shithole but then there would be a chance that this boy would tell the principal and get her expelled. "Coming?" he asked walking backwards.

She rolled her eyes and slowly trailed along behind him until they reached the bleachers, located at the gym. Gabriella made her way up the steps where she took a seat and pulled her legs up to her chest. The bleachers were a good spot. Indoors, warm and not another person in site except for the boy standing at the bottom step flashing his stupid smile at her.

"I'm Troy by the way" he said pulling his hands out of his pocket and running his hand through his hair. Gabriella sighed and looked away.

"I don't care, but you can go now"

"You're so different Gabriella" he said shaking his head with a small smile playing on his lips.

"Get used to it" she replied staring coldly at him. There was an awkward silence as she waited for him to leave, but he didn't. There were so many questions he wanted to ask her. That's when he noticed she wasn't eating.

"Not hungry?" he asked cocking and eyebrow. Gabriella rolled her eyes and glared at him. Why couldn't he just leave her alone like everyone else?

"No food" she responded, her jaw clenched. Karen had made her a nice lunch that morning but being as stubborn as she was she threw it away saying she didn't need a mother figure

"Oh well here have some" he said running up to where she was sitting and pulled a sandwich out from his bag, offering it to her.

"I don't want your food, leave me the fuck alone. I don't need you or anyone else for that matter!" she yelled pushing his hand away before standing up and grabbing her bag, headed to the door. He stood there completely shocked. He was only helping, but she didn't want that. Before he could do anything else the bell rang, sighing, he walked to his locker and retrieved his books for his next class.

****

Gabriella sighed, it was the end of the school day and Tony was going to be picking her up. She saw his car as soon as she stepped out of the school doors it was parked right outside the school. Gabriella shook her head and headed in the opposite direction. She was walking home. She didn't know where she was going; actually she didn't _care _where she was going. Shoving her hands deep inside her pockets for warmth she made her way down the street.

She was lost. But she didn't care. It was dark now and the little noises that would startle anyone else who was walking alone down a dark street didn't affect her. She walked, even though her toes and feet were numb from the intense cold temperature.

"Gabriella?!" someone shouted, she didn't turn, not even when the car was crawling slowly beside her. "Get in please" they sounded agitated. She turned her head and rolled her eyes.

"I'm fine walking" she lied.

"No you're not, I've been worried sick. We almost called the cops" Tony said, still driving ever so slowly. Gabriella laughed, no humour intended, it was a dead sound.

"You weren't worried at all. Probably just worried what the neighbours would think about you losing your foster kid"

"Gabriella please, just get in" he was tired, stressed and didn't want to argue. She reefed the door open and plunged herself inside, slamming the door shut. He immediately fastened his pace and headed home.

"Where have you been?" he asked obviously distressed.

He had waited patiently for Gabriella to come out of school, anxious to see how her first day had been in her new school. Although his anxiousness turned into worry when he couldn't see her through the thick crowd of students as they piled out of the building. Thinking she had been held in school, he waited.

An hour had passed and all the busses and student's gone before his worries got the better of him. He threw himself out of the car and jogged to the school entrance only to be told to leave the premises' by one of the teacher's locking up. Once he had informed them that Gabriella may still be in the building they shook their head informing him the building was cleared. Of course this worried him to no end.

He drove home to see if she hadn't walked there, once he arrived it was clear she wasn't home. He and Karen began searching for her almost immediately, checking the parks to see if she hadn't wandered off. Karen had decided to go back home in case she had shown up and Tony was to continue his searches. He was just about to call the police when a dark figure caught his eye, it didn't take long to see it was Gabriella.

"I was walking home from school, got lost" she sighed not bothering to put on her seatbelt.

"I was picking you up Gabi, there was no need to walk!" he exclaimed shaking his head.

"I didn't see you" she lied, no emotion in her voice. They were quiet for the rest of the ride until Tony parked the car.

"And for the record, I do care" he said getting out of the car and opening her door.

Gabriella didn't bother replying. She grabbed her bag and walked inside to face an anxious looking Karen. Gabriella rolled her eyes when Karen told her how worried she was. Quite frankly, she didn't care. After refusing dinner and anything else for that matter Gabriella trudged up the stairs to her new temporary bedroom, collapsing on her bed in a heap.

"Fuck my life" Gabriella sighed before pulling her clothes off and slipping into an over-sized tee and flannel pants. She walked into the bathroom and washed her face free of makeup. She stood their staring at herself, actually more like _glaring_.

She loathed how she looked. She hated her hair and its natural curliness, something she had inherited from her mother. She hated how it would frizz on hot days and the thickness of it leaving her sweating.

She hated her eyes. They were brown and identical to her fathers. She'd once brought hazel contacts to hide them.

She hated her face and body in general. Nothing was appealing about it. Girls would often complain that boys would check them out. Gabriella never had that problem. She never saw anyone look at her like they wanted her _ever. _

Not being able to look at her reflection any longer Gabriella punched the mirror, cracking it and causing bits of glass to fly everywhere. The O'Malley's heard the noise from downstairs and ran up to see if Gabriella hadn't fallen through her balcony doors or dropped something. But the door was locked into her room. Karen called out but she ignored them.

Looking down at her now bloodied hand she closed her eyes painfully and sank to the floor.

**Guys, I'd love to hear your feedback. I feel so appreciated when people tell me they like my work, so be kind and take one second to tell me your thoughts :)**

**Quicker you review, quicker I update. **


	3. Chapter 3

**"People love others not for who they are, but for how they make us feel."  
---Irwin Federman**

* * *

Gabriella had managed another two days in the hell hole, otherwise known as East High. These two days she was lucky, because she could pass time doing her own thing, without anyone trying to become her friend. Doing her own thing, included going to class, being silent, not speaking to anyone and sitting alone on the bleachers during lunch. It was a lonely life, but that's how Gabriella saw her life. Who would want to talk to her, without wanting something from her?

"Morning" an almost cheery voice said as Gabriella slid into her normal homeroom seat. Gabriella looked around. She couldn't believe that anyone was taking to her after the last two days. When she looked up she spotted a pretty, dark skinned girl sitting in the seat next to her, smiling a bright smile.

"What do you want?" Gabriella sighed. Her voice was emotionless, plain and her attention soon went back to her hands that were resting on the desk. She really didn't want to make friends with the people here.

"I'm Taylor McKessie, I couldn't help but notice you sitting by yourself in most classes." The dark skinned girl replied. When Gabriella blew her of, Taylor's smile dropped, she replied: "you're supposed to say 'Hi there! My name's Gabriella Montez, so nice to meet you'"

"Piss off" Gabriella muttered angrily. She really didn't want to talk to little miss sunshine who had drawn the long end of the stick, while she had drawn the short end of the stick. She could only dream of that life.

As soon as Taylor recovered from Gabriella's harsh words, she let out a short, humourless laugh. "You should stop being such a snob and actually talk to people every once and while, you might make some friends." Taylor stated, before turning in her seat – which was to the left of Gabriella – and starting up a conversation with another girl.

Gabriella let out a scoff and she leaned back into her chair, just as Mrs Darbus entered the room, silencing the pupils. Gabriella barely listened to Mrs Darbus' rant about the upcoming musical. She focused her attention on the loose thread on her shirt, while being in deep thought about the words Taylor had said to her. She did want to be nice to people, but what would she get out of it. Nothing, just more disappointment when she was sent back or when she finally turned eighteen and she would have to leave this life behind her.

As soon as the bell rang she slowly rose and headed out, but someone grabbed her arm.

"Hey! Get the hell off of me!" she shouted, causing the entire class to turn and look at her. Gabriella immediately glared at them causing them to turn their heads and walk back out the door. When Gabriella looked up she noticed it was Taylor, who had grabbed her arm and she glared at her. Taylor took her hand of Gabriella and crossed her arms in front of her.

"Okay, I was only stopping you to ask what class you were headed to." Taylor told her matter-of-factly with a glare of her own.

"Well don't you ever touch me again!" Gabriella said, taking a step away from the girl and towards the door.

"Okay, my bad, but what do you have next?" Taylor asked matching Gabriella's steps.

"What's it to you?" Gabriella replied in the same voice, taking one more step further away from Taylor.

"Look, I'm sick of playing nice with you. All I'm asking is what your next class is, so we can walk together!" Taylor said throwing her arms up in frustration. Just as she was walking away from Gabriella, she heard a strained voice answer.

"I have Bio."

--

Troy's day had been going pretty good up to now. He had all his easy subjects and most of them were a bludge. When lunchtime came around he walked his usual way, which meant that he walked by the gym. When he was passing by, he looked through the window of the door and saw Gabriella sitting there. It made his face light up and a bright smile appeared.

When he looked in the gym again he saw two people, one of which was Gabriella, while he recognised the other one as Taylor McKessie. They were talking and they were friendly. "Since when did she have friends?" he wondered. He was pulled out of his thoughts by a familiar voice.

"Hey babe, walk to lunch with me?" Amy smiled, dressed in the red and white cheerleading uniform.

"Um, okay..." Troy replied taking one last look inside the gym, before walking alongside Amy.

"So, what are you doing this weekend?" she asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

"This weekend? Uh, I don't know. You?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck. He knew what she was going to say, before she had even said it. In fact he knew as soon as he asked her the question.

"Well ... My parents are going to a benefit Saturday night and I was wondering if you would be my date?" she replied, stopping at the doors of the cafeteria. Amy's family was extremely wealthy and everyone knew it. Her father ran a very successful company and gave Amy everything her little heart desired, which was why she is so obnoxious to others now.

"Amy... I don't think that's such a good idea" Troy responded feeling a little annoyed. He already told her a million times he wasn't interested in her, but she still didn't get the picture: he wasn't interested in her and he would never be!

"Oh come on Troy it's not like an actual date! You will just be a friend I'm taking along!" she sighed, tossing her hair and looking up at Troy from under her eyelashes.

"Then why can't you take Emily? She's your best friend right?" Troy asked looking in the cafeteria then back to the strawberry blonde standing in front of him.

"Because I wanted to take you" she smiled running her hand down his arm.

"I'll think about it okay?" he said quickly turning and walking over to his table where his friends were sitting.

--

As Gabriella walked almost sluggishly out of school at the end of the day, she reflected on what had happened today. Taylor had ended up walking her to class and sitting beside her, but they never spoke, which almost made Taylor lose her mind. The next class was with Taylor too, and much to Gabriella's dismay Taylor started to talk to her.

"Hey, why don't you sit with me at lunch?" Taylor had suggested. Of course Gabriella had said no in true Gabriella style: with quite some colourful words. She told Taylor she wanted to be alone at lunchtime.

But Taylor being Taylor didn't mind Gabriella saying no; instead she had walked Gabriella to the bleachers before walking back into the cafeteria to sit with the rest of her friends.

Gabriella was still confused about the whole thing as she walked to Tony's car, which was parked in its usual spot outside of the school.

"How was school?" Tony asked kindly.

While she was starting to warm up with Taylor at school, she was so closed off at home. She wouldn't talk to them, only when she needed too and her manners were non-existent.

"Fine" Gabriella responded pulling out her iPod and listening to _Paramore._

"I'm glad" Tony replied even though he knew she couldn't hear him.

As soon as she got home she went upstairs to her room and took a short nap. When she woke up and came back downstairs she could hear Karen talking on the phone. In an effort to be sneaky Gabriella hid behind the wall near the kitchen, where Karen was. She didn't have to strain her ears to hear exactly what Karen was saying.

"I don't know... Yeah she doesn't talk unless she's asked something, I don't know what to do...because she deserves so much more than that... yeah... well thanks for listening but I have to start dinner...ok see you Sunday take care" Gabriella couldn't help but sigh as she slowly walked into the kitchen were Karen was.

"Hey" Gabriella spoke softly, startling Karen only for a second before she turned around and saw her standing there.

"Oh hello dear, what's up?" Karen asked grabbing some vegetables from the fridge.

"Do you...do you need any help?" she asked in a voice even she didn't recognise. Karen stopped what she was doing and turned to Gabriella, a look of shock playing through her features before finally smiling.

"Yes, I would love some help" she replied kindly. Gabriella nodded, before she slowly walked over to Karen and listened as Karen explained what needed to be done. As she worked Karen kept stealing glances at her. Karen didn't understand what was happening, but she liked it nevertheless. At dinnertime Gabriella grabbed her plate and headed upstairs, like she usually did. This didn't surprise Karen or Tony in the slightest.

"You know she helped me with dinner tonight" Karen spoke as she and Tony sat at the dinner table, a small smile playing on her lips. Tony looked up with surprise before allowing himself to smile too.

"She did?" he asked and upon seeing Karen nod he raised his eyebrows, "I wonder why she did that"

"That's what I was thinking. It was right after I got off the phone to Father Crowley, maybe she overheard?" Karen suggested whilst cutting her steak.

"Talking to Father again, sweetheart?" Tony asked, reaching his hand over to lay it on hers. Karen nodded and sighed.

"I needed the guidance, to know we're doing the right thing here, Tony" she almost whispered, it looked as if she were on the verge of tears. Tony gave her hand a light squeeze before picking his knife up and sighing too.

Upstairs, Gabriella finished eating and brought her plate back down, placing it in the dishwasher. Gabriella didn't know what had come over her earlier, she actually felt _sorry _for Karen. For some reason hearing someone sounding so upset over her made her feel sick, helping out seemed like the only thing she could do.

Walking back up to her room she passed Tony walking into the kitchen, he gave her a small smile and kept walking, but soon stopped once he heard her voice.

"Um... Tony?" she asked quietly. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned around trying to make his face casual and not surprised.

"Yes Gabi?" he asked turning toward her.

"Thank you" she said her body half turned in his direction and her eyes on the ground.

"For what?" he asked slightly confused.

"For asking how my day was, it was ... n-nice of you" she spilled, finding saying sorry extremely hard to do.

"Oh, you don't have to thank me. I care about you, it's nice to know how your day was" he smiled, his heart warming at every word she spoke. For Gabriella as soon as he said the word 'care' her eyes flew up to meet his then back down to the ground again. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes and go on about how much he was lying, she simply nodded once and turned and ascended the stairs.

All this caring and being nice was strange to the small brunette but it didn't stop her aching feeling of emptiness. As soon as she got back into her room she searched under her bed for the packet of cigarettes she had gotten weeks ago, in Florida. Reaching around she pulled out one cigarette and the lighter before locking her bedroom door and walking out to her balcony.

She lit up the cigarette and took a long drag. She wasn't a smoker, she only did it in high stress situations or when she needed a release. Wincing a little as the smoke burned her throat Gabriella budded out the cigarette after only one puff and took it back into her room and placed it back into the packet for another day.

A few hours passed with Gabriella watching TV when she decided to go to sleep. Luckily enough for her, she had her own TV in her room. Shutting it off she changed into her pyjamas and brushed her teeth, both of which she did in front of the broken mirror in the bathroom. It had happened a few days ago but she refused to let Tony fix it, she preferred it broken; it reminded her of her own life.

--

As for Troy, he stood with his friends at the local park; they were shooting hoops, something they did regularly of a night.

"Chad what's the go with Taylor and Gabriella?" Troy asked, remembering seeing Taylor talking with her earlier that day.

"Who's Gabriella?" Chad asked, catching the ball as Zeke tossed it to him. Troy rolled his eyes knowing Chad only knew her as one thing.

"The new girl" Troy sighed, shaking his head.

"OH! Dude I don't know... she just said she feels sorry for her" Chad said scrunching up his face and shaking his head, "as if you'd feel sorry for her"

"As if you would even talk to her" Zeke laughed stealing the ball off of Chad and successfully throwing it through the hoop. Troy averted his eyes and let out a sigh, he hadn't told them about how he had spoken to her, and didn't plan on it either.

"I don't know. She could be cute, you know if she toned down the black and actually smiled" Jason shrugged catching Zeke's rebound.

"Doubt it" Chad laughed triggering Zeke and Jason to join in too. Troy remained silent as he grabbed the ball from Jason's hand and tossed it through the hoop, catching the rebound and throwing it again.

"What's the time?" Zeke asked, stretching his arms above his head.

"Ah, shit, it's nine" Jason sighed stopping the ball when it came his way, "We better get going, mom went ape shit at me last time I came back late"

"Yeah me too, especially cause it's a school night" Troy said ruffling Chad's hair before running up the hill towards the cars with the guys following behind.

"Cya losers!" Zeke called jumping into his car, Troy stuck his finger up at him as he drove past before getting into his own car and yelling out a goodbye, while speeding home.

"Troy, you're late again" Jack scolded as soon as he walked through the door.

"I know, we were shooting hoops at the park" Troy shrugged, kicking of his shoes.

"Well, get straight to bed. You're lucky your mom is out" Jack said flipping through the TV.

"What? Where's mom?" Troy asked walking over towards his father.

"She's at book club, or whatever it's called" Jack responded shaking his head.

"Mom does book club?" Troy laughed, "When did this start?".

"Tonight actually! Now go to bed before she gets home" Jack said turning the TV volume up and waving his hand at Troy.

"Alright, alright! Night dad" Troy called, bounding up the stairs and into his room. Pulling his cell out of his pocket he saw he had 3 new messages all from Amy. Muttering 'Jesus' he stripped out of his clothes and jumped into the cold shower to wash the sweat of him before heading to bed for a dreamless night sleep.

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**Sorry for the terribly late update, I've been super busy and my wonderful Beta has been sick, but I hope you like this chapter and can't wait to hear what you think :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for the reviews, sorry this is a little late.**

**Once again, this couldn't have happened without my beta.**

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Spring.

In a few more days this cold winter will be officially over and even though the season is changing, the weather will stay the same. Gabriella pulled her coat tighter around her petite body as she walked into the school preparing herself for another day of pain, irritation and boredom. Right when she reached the doors of the school a slim figure approached her. Gabriella recognized the girl immediately. It was Taylor.

"Morning" the dark girl smiled.

"Hey" Gabriella smiled weakly, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. After their talk yesterday Gabriella couldn't help but feel slightly more at ease around Taylor. She was starting to open her heart for the girl and for Gabriella liking someone and opening up her heart was a really strange thing to happen. She opened her heart up twice, for her parents, and both times her heart was broken. She tried with each set of foster parents, but eventually they would all disappoint her and she would be left behind. Behind her snarky and closed off attitude there was a really beautiful and smart girl hidden. A girl, who had been broken beyond repair, as she would say so herself.

"Ooh a smile! What an improvement" Taylor teased her as she followed Gabriella to her locker.

"Oh? Would you rather have a punch in the nose? Because I could arrange that if you'd like!" Gabriella said sarcastically, while putting in her locker digits. Taylor leaned on the locker next to Gabriella's and twirled a piece of her hair around in her fingers.

"You know my mom and dad are going to this really stuck up benefit on Saturday night and I was wondering if you and Sharpay would like to be my dates." Taylor suggested, ignoring Gabriella's previous comment, knowing the girl was way up her league in sarcasm.

"A date? Wow, Taylor I didn't know you felt that way about me" Gabriella replied sarcastically. Taylor merely rolled her eyes, but before she could open her mouth to respond Gabriella cut her off, "Who in the hell is Sharpay anyway?"

"Oh, you haven't met Sharpay, have you? Well, you've probably heard of her or seen her around. She's the loud, skinny one with long blonde hair and dressed in pink all the time. She really loves the color pink" Taylor stated, laughing a little under her breath about Sharpay's description.

Gabriella did hear about the girl and she did see her. Although they haven't met or spoken, Gabriella already seemed to know a lot about her. She had overheard conversations about the girl and from what she gathered Sharpay seems to be the bitchy, diva type, definitely someone Gabriella didn't want to get to know.

"Uh, no thanks. I try my hardest to stay away from bitchy girly-girls." Gabriella said slamming her locker shut and turning to walk away.

"Gabi" Taylor said grabbing her arm. Gabriella spun around an glared at the girl. There were two reasons for this. First of all she didn't really like being grabbed or even touched by anyone and second of all she didn't really like that nickname either. It reminded her of her mother, who always called her Gabi.

Taylor, realizing her mistake, immediately dropped Gabriella's arm. "Sorry, but she's not at all like everyone says she is. You just have to get to know her and you will see. She's my best friend." Taylor said defensively.

"Whatever" Gabriella sighed crossing her arms the best she could whilst holding on to her books.

"Sorry, I just totally forgot you two haven't even met. Come on! I'm sure she'd like to meet you." Taylor said, nodding her head behind her as if to motion Gabriella to follow her.

"Taylor, my answer is still no, about both things. I don't want to go to the benefit and I don't want to meet your BFF." Gabriella stated before turning around and successfully walking away, just as the bell rang.

"Are you kidding me? Why would you even offer her that?" Sharpay said, scowling at her best friend.

It was lunchtime and Taylor was informing Sharpay on how she offered Gabriella to go to the benefit with them as they walked to their lunch table. As you can imagine Sharpay wasn't taking it very well. She knew Taylor was starting to talk to Gabriella, but she couldn't understand why she did it. Sharpay thought Gabriella was a loner, a freak, someone she didn't want herself nor her best friend talking to too.

"Yes, but you don't have to worry, she said no. I think I'm going to try and convince her to come." Taylor stated while sliding into her normal lunch seat. The table was empty as Sharpay and Taylor rushed from their classroom to the cafeteria and their friends hadn't arrived yet.

"Oh my gosh Taylor! No offense but she's a _freak_! And you barely know her she could be a murderer or something." Sharpay whisper yelled.

"Oh stop being so melodramatic Shar. Do you have any classes with her?" Taylor asked pulling out her premade lunch from her messenger bag.

"Um, Spanish I think..." Shar said, squinting her eyes in thought.

"Good! You sit next to her in Spanish! I really want her to be comfortable with us. I just feel like she's pushing people away because she doesn't know how to act, because she never had people surrounding her." Taylor said smiling.

"Oh hell no. You're probably right, but I'm not you. I don't do charity." Sharpay said throwing her perfectly manicured nails in the air.

"Please, for me?" Taylor pouted.

"God, you're so annoying!" Sharpay whined, knowing she couldn't resist Taylor's pouting face. Just when she said that Kelsi and Chad were making their way over to their table.

Gabriella was sitting silently in her seat when Sharpay entered the room. Gabriella looked up and watched as the thin blonde searched the room, before Sharpay's eyes landed on her. Gabriella eyed the girl as she slowly walked to the back of the room where Gabriella was sitting and she took the seat beside her. The teacher was yet to come to the class so the students were talking, creating an awkward silence between the blonde and the brunette girl.

"Uh, hi!" Sharpay finally spoke with fake enthusiasm. Gabriella lifted her eyes from her iPod to look at the girl and she immediately knew this was all Taylor's doing.

"Taylor set you up to speak to me?" Gabriella asked in a cold voice, the one she used when she talked to strangers or when she wanted someone to back off.

"Yep!" Sharpay responded popping the 'P'.

"She wants me to come to the thing on Saturday night; did she tell you to ask me too?" Gabriella asked, eyeing Sharpay, as she fidgeted with her bracelet.

"No, even if she did I wouldn't ask you. No offense" Sharpay said bluntly, looking the petite brunette in the eye. Gabriella was taken aback by the girl's bluntness, but she had to force herself not to smile.

"None taken. Oh, but could you please tell her anymore attempts into trying to get me to go won't work. I'd rather watch paint dry then go anywhere with you two. No offense" Gabriella said turning her attention back to her iPod.

"Will do" Sharpay said, chuckling slightly.

The teacher chose then to walk into the room and start the lesson. Gabriella barely paid attention which was easy as the teacher never called on her for anything. She was thinking about everything that had been happening these last few days of winter. She was opening up to Taylor, she helped Karen at the house with dinner and she even spoke few words with Tony. Even just now with Sharpay was something new.

Towards the end of the lesson she dared to look at the skinny blonde next to her, who was scowling at her cell, which was hidden in her lap.

"Boyfriend trouble?" Gabriella whispered mockingly. Sharpay slowly turned her head to face the brunette before raising her eyebrows.

"Is it any of your concern if it is?" Sharpay asked icily.

"Ooh, Blondie's got an attitude!" Gabriella said turning her attention yet again away from the blonde and back to the front of the room where the teacher was writing on the board.

"Are you always this ... nice?" Sharpay asked sarcastically. Gabriella just smirked before she looked back at her and winked. The bell rang signalling the end of the lesson and finally the end of the day. Gabriella grabbed her bag and began walking out when Sharpay stopped her.

"So what are you doing this weekend? You know because you're not going to the benefit." Sharpay asked.

"Oh, I'm going to visit the Queen." Gabriella replied as they walked in sync out of the classroom and into the halls.

"Very funny. Really, You should be a comedian!" Sharpay said flipping her hair back. Before she could reply with a snappy comeback she saw Troy. He was laughing with his friends. Last night she had dreamt about him. They were walking along the beach and he was asking her about her family and she was telling him, but before she could see his reaction she woke up.

Sharpay didn't miss Gabriella staring at Troy. Smirking she nudged her, "Well, well, well, Miss Montez has a crush." she said in a sing-song voice. Gabriella instantly glared at the blonde before scoffing.

"Get real Blondie! I bet he's one of your many boy toys." She remarked and forced her eyes to stay straight ahead as they neared the boys.

"Oh, please. I mean, he's fucking hot, but he's not my type." Sharpay laughed and then waved as they passed the group. Gabriella could feel Troy's eyes on her, but didn't make any signs in showing it.

"Oh, thank God, there's Taylor." She breathed, pointing to the dark girl fishing through her locker.

"Hey guys!" she smiled when they approached her, "Well you're both talking which is good... but by the looks on your faces it's not going well is it?"

"Nope" both the girls said together causing Taylor to sigh and let out a groan.

"Why? What happened?" Taylor asked slamming her locker shut and putting her hands on her hips.

"She's a freak" Sharpay smiled.

"Sharpay!" Taylor scolded, glaring at her before turning to Gabriella and looking sincere, "Look I'm sorry about that Gabriella"

"I'm out of here, you and Barbie have a real nice time now" Gabriella said pushing past Taylor and swiftly walking out the school doors.

As soon as the cool air hit her Gabriella's smug look faded and once again returned cold. She instantly wrapped her arms around herself, although, it had nothing to do with the cool weather.

She and Tony didn't talk the whole car ride home, instead, she listening to her iPod and Tony busied himself by listening to the news cast on the radio. Karen wasn't home when they got back; instead she was out helping the old lady across the street get her shopping done. _What a saint, _Gabriella thought sarcastically as she flopped down on the couch in front of the TV.

Once again dinner went quite well. Gabriella helped prepare the meal before she retreated to her room to eat and finish her homework for the night, so she could watch some television or read.

Although Gabriella didn't like school, she did do her homework and she did it with ease. She was actually a smart girl with a bright future ahead of her if she wanted it. She didn't have to study much to have good results and she actually loved English and sciences, but she never had anyone to share her thoughts with. Once she started opening up to people they would ship her off to wherever next they took her. She never had any real control in her life. The only way she could take that control was by cutting when she was younger. She didn't really felt she still needed it, but sometimes she slipped up and she wore her chunky bracelets to cover up the scars and new cuts, but lately she started feeling better.

When she met Troy, Taylor and Sharpay she wanted to be the friendly, innocent girl she once was and she wanted to become friends with them, but her past held her back. She only had a couple of months left here, because she would turn eighteen and then she would really be homeless and that's the main reason why she held back from becoming friends and distancing herself from everyone around her. She never had anyone who would help her out or be her friend and it was hard after so many years to let people in.

She felt that her relationship with Karen and Tony was improving as well and she honestly wanted to believe them when they said they cared and that they wanted her to stay with them even if she turned eighteen, but yet again her past held her back. Some other families promised her things, but when everything came together they easily broke their promises and send her back to hell.

She really hoped things would be different this time around.

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**So, what do you think? What should happen next? Let me know!**


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